Abstract
ABSTRACT The common bean succession to intercropped crops in the no-tillage system is beneficial, especially in the search for sustainability. In addition to the straw production, the intercropping can supply nitrogen (N) to the common bean grown in succession, reducing the use of mineral fertilizer, which is pollutant and has a high cost. The present study aimed to evaluate the response to N fertilization of common bean in succession to maize cropping systems, as well as the viability of these systems in the no-tillage system. The experimental design was randomized blocks, in a split-plot arrangement, with four replicates. The plots consisted of the following systems: maize as a single crop, maize intercropped with brachiaria and maize intercropped with crotalaria. The subplots were five N doses (0 kg ha-1, 50 kg ha-1, 100 kg ha-1, 150 kg ha-1 and 200 kg ha-1), applied as topdressing fertilization in winter common bean, in succession to the maize cropping systems. For the maize cultivation systems, the grain yield and N amount and accumulation in the straw were evaluated. As for the common bean in succession, the grain yield and grain quality attributes were assessed. Although the three cropping systems were viable for maize grain yield, the intercropping of maize with crotalaria led to a higher N accumulation in the straw and a larger quantity of straw dry mass. The increase of the N doses promoted an increase in the grain yield of common bean grown in succession to intercropped maize. Maize intercropped with crotalaria resulted in grains with a higher size and, concerning the grain yield, an equivalent effect to that of a topdressing application of more than 200 kg ha-1 of N was observed for the common bean in succession.
Highlights
Crops in a no-tillage system, associated with adequate management practices, are strategies for a sustainable agricultural production
Kappes & Zancanaro (2015) emphasized that the intercropping viability depends on factors such as the species used, management of cover crops and edaphoclimatic conditions, after observing a reduction of grain yield justified by an interspecific competition of maize intercropped with forage grasses and with leguminous species, in comparison to the maize as a single crop
The maize grain yield is not affected by the intercropping with crotalaria and brachiaria, when compared to its cultivation as a single crop
Summary
Crops in a no-tillage system, associated with adequate management practices, are strategies for a sustainable agricultural production. The no-tillage system stands out especially for mitigating the three major threats to the soil functions, namely erosion, changes in the soil organic carbon and nutrient imbalance (FAO 2016). The positive effect with the use of the no-tillage system depends on the correct choice of the crops grown, what may influence the preservation of the crop residues on the soil surface (Amaral et al 2016). It can be a strategy for supplying nutrients to crops in succession/rotation (Maluf et al 2015), through green manure
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